But this has really hacked off shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who wrote in the Sunday Mirror that Sir Richard is ‘a tax exile who thinks he can try and intervene and undermine our democracy’.

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His column continued: ‘The whole purpose of the honours system is undermined when the rich and the powerful can collect their gongs without giving anything back. It’s even worse when tax exiles are given honours.’

And McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyn’s most senior ally, wrote: ‘It should be a simple choice for the mega-rich. Run off to tax exile if you want. But you leave your titles and your honours behind when you go.’

Labour MP John Woodcock, a prominent critic of the leader, said it was a case of sour grapes, stating: ‘Dare to question Saint Jeremy’s version of the truth? John McDonnell will strip you of your knighthood.’

And leadership challenger Smith also dismissed McDonnell’s call, telling LBC Radio: ‘That seems a bit much, to be honest. I think it was merely pointing out the reality that Jeremy didn’t need to sit on the floor.